Diagnosing Alzheimers
How is Alzheimer's Diagnosed?
Diagnosing Alzheimers can be carried out by a doctor in most cases of Alzheimer's. However, nobody can be 100% sure until after death, when diagnosing Alzheimers disease is possible throughout a microscopic examination of the brain to detect plaques and tangles. One of the most common of the early Alzheimers signs and symptoms is memory loss. The difference between Alzheimers and normal short-term memory lapses lies in the ability to recall the forgotten information.
Checklist
Below is a Memory Checklist that can be filled in if you are concerned about yourself or someone close to you. This is meant as a simple guide. - Does the person often repeat themselves or ask the same question repeatedly?
- Is the person more forgetful or having difficulty with short-term memory?
- Does the person need reminders to do daily tasks, such as shopping or taking medication?
- Does the person forget appointments, family occasions or holidays?
- Does the person seem sad, down in the dumps or cry more often than in the past?
- Is the person having trouble doing calculations or managing their money?
- Has the person lost interest in their usual activities and hobbies, i.e. reading, watching and/or listening to the news or other social activities?
- Does the person need help eating, dressing, bathing or using the bathroom?
- Has the person become more irritable, agitated, suspicious or started seeing, hearing or believing things that are not real?
- Do you have concerns in relation to their safety when driving?
- Does the person have trouble finding words they want to say; do you find yourself finishing sentences or naming people or things on their behalf?
If you answered 'yes' to five or more questions, it might be useful to consult a skilled general practitioner, neurologist, or geriatrician. They can carry out diagnosing Alzheimers and exclude other causes of the symptoms.
The Following Tests May Be Ordered
On diagnosing Alzheimers these tests can be supporting: Blood Tests
To see if the patient has a thyroid disorder or vitamin deficiency. Neuropsychological Testing
This involves an extensive assessment of cognitive (thinking) and memory skills. It can take several hours. These types of tests are extremely useful in Alzheimers diagnosis as well as diagnosing other dementias early on. In these tests doctors: - ask questions about the person’s overall health, past medical problems, ability to carry out daily activities, and changes in behavior and personality
- conduct tests of memory, problem solving, attention, counting, and language
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) Scan
A powerful magnetic field is created by passing an electric current through the wire loops. Meanwhile, other coils in the magnet send and receive radio waves. This triggers protons in the body to align themselves. Once aligned, radio waves are absorbed by the protons, which stimulate spinning. Energy is released after "exciting" the molecules, which in turn emits energy signals that are picked up by the coil. This information is then sent to a computer which processes all the signals and generates it into an image. The final product is a 3-D image representation of the area being examined; which in this case would be the brain. PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan
Uses radiation, or nuclear medicine imaging, to produce 3-dimensional, color images of the functional processes within the human body. It is very useful in helping the doctor diagnose Alzheimer's disease. A PET Scan that measures uptake of sugar in the brain significantly improves the accuracy of diagnosing a type of dementia often mistaken for Alzheimer's disease. CT (Computerized Tomography) Scan
This device uses digital geometry processing to generate a 3-dimensional (3-D) image of the inside of an object. The 3-D image is made after many 2-dimensional X-ray images are taken around a single axis of rotation - in other words, many pictures of the same area are taken from many angles and then placed together to produce a 3-D image.
Difference Between PET, CT or MRI Scan
A CT or MRI Scan can assess the size and shape of body organs and tissue. However, they cannot assess function. A PET Scan looks at function. In other words, MRI or CT Scans tell you what it looks like, while a PET Scan can tell you how it is working.
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